{"id":16575,"date":"2025-09-12T19:33:53","date_gmt":"2025-09-12T19:33:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/bears-volleyball-fends-off-hard-charging-bluejays-in-highway-184-tilt\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T03:58:37","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T03:58:37","slug":"bears-volleyball-fends-off-hard-charging-bluejays-in-highway-184-tilt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/bears-volleyball-fends-off-hard-charging-bluejays-in-highway-184-tilt\/","title":{"rendered":"Bears volleyball fends off hard-charging Bluejays in Highway 184 tilt"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Mancos
Mancos seniors Caylee Moore (13) and Destiny Kramer (12) look to deny an attack from Dolores junior Aubree Wyatt in a match between the Bluejays and Bears at MHS on Tuesday night. Erika Alvero\/Special to The Journal<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

MANCOS \u2013 Mancos High School may have saved a bit on its electricity bill Thursday night. The Bluejays and Bears provided enough voltage inside Bluejays Fieldhouse to keep the gymnasium lit for weeks.<\/p>\n

In an emotionally charged volleyball match, Dolores withstood several Mancos rallies in a 25-19, 25-17, 28-26 sweep to remain unbeaten this season.<\/p>\n

Ranked No. 2 in Class 2A in the first CHSAA Seeding and Selection Index, Dolores head coach Brianna Wyatt led her Bears into a battle against her former team. First-year Mancos head coach Delaney Wright had her squad ready for the challenge, with each point eliciting a roar from the boisterous MHS and DHS student sections.<\/p>\n

\"Dolores
Dolores junior Kendall Chavez blasts the ball through the Mancos wall of sophomore Laney Palmer and freshman Tymbri Priestley in a match between the Bluejays and Bears at MHS on Tuesday night. Erika Alvero\/Special to The Journal<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Dolores (6-0, 2-0 San Juan Basin League) struck first, using a late run in the opening set to pull away after Mancos (5-6, 2-2 SJBL) stayed within striking distance early.<\/p>\n

The Bears capitalized on the momentum, surging to a double-digit lead in the second set with a 20-9 advantage, before the Bluejays rallied. Their comeback fell short when Dolores sealed set point.<\/p>\n

If the first two sets were an appetizer, the third served up the main course. Mancos jumped out to a 13-7 lead, with Bluejays junior Bailey Beh and senior Caylee Moore helping to inspire the Bluejays\u2019 best stretch of the match.<\/p>\n

Dolores freshman Addyson Wyatt served the Bears back into the set, rattling off seven straight points for the visitors before Mancos senior Destiny Kramer stopped the run with a soft touch over the Bears\u2019 wall to tie the score at 14.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cDestiny was a really smart player. Even when she wanted to use power, she saw what was open and took advantage of it,\u201d said Mancos first-year head coach Delaney Wright.<\/p>\n

Former Bluejay Aubree Wyatt, now with Dolores, delivered a cross-court kill to put the Bears ahead 16-15, sparking a 7-3 run that extended the lead to 22-18.<\/p>\n

Mancos sophomore Laney Palmer came up big in the middle, starting a comeback with a kill. Kramer and Beh followed to tie the score at 22. The Bluejays edged ahead 24-23, but Wyatt answered with another kill to deny set point.<\/p>\n

Dolores turned away two set points before DHS junior Akaia Edwards posted a solo block to give the Bears a 26-25 edge. Kramer responded with a deft attack to keep Mancos alive, but Wyatt had the final say with a perfectly placed touch shot to seal the win.<\/p>\n

The Bears kept Mancos senior libero Lexi Lyons busy all evening, as the Bluejays handled the heat from DHS hitters as well as any opponent Dolores has faced this season.<\/p>\n

With all the energy of a rivalry match, Wright expected some jitters, but once the opening serve was struck, her team got down to business.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey pushed through and fought all the way to the end,\u201d applauded Wright. \u201cI\u2019m so happy they left it on the court.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Bluejays have held their own against several teams ranked in the top 15 in Class 2A, including Buena Vista and West Grand, as well as top-tier San Juan Basin League opponents. With more tough competition ahead, Wright said team chemistry will be key to a postseason return.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe came together better as a team tonight,\u201d said Wright. \u201cWe learned what it was like to do the little things right.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Highway 184 rivalry resumes Oct. 2 in Dolores. In the meantime, Mancos visits Montezuma-Cortez on Sept. 16 for a 7 p.m. match. Dolores faces Ouray on Sept. 13, followed by road games against Nucla and Telluride on Sept. 16 and 18, respectively.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

six-match skid against SJBL rivals<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16576,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[38,39,28,37,36],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-16575","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-dolores-high-school","tag-dove-creek-high-school","tag-headlines","tag-mancos-high-school","tag-montezuma-cortez-high-school"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16575","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16575"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16575\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20792,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16575\/revisions\/20792"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16576"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16575"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16575"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16575"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=16575"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}